Employees from the Dunelm store in Swindon have walked a collective 100 miles raising over £500 for a mental health charity.

Colleagues from the St. Margaret’s Retail Park store each walked the 25 miles from Swindon to Newbury on the 10th May, collecting sponsorship money to be donated to Dunelm’s official charity partner, Mind.

Karlie Lowe, Summer Jackson and Grace Payne from Swindon along with Josh Keyte from Weston-Super-Mare all took part in the sponsored walk together.

Josh Keyte, Store Coach at the Swindon branch, said: "We’re delighted to have been able to take part in the sponsored walk and donate our time to raise money for such a worthy cause.

Swindon Advertiser:

"Thanks so much to the people who supported and sponsored us!"

Stores in Scotland are also taking part in a similar initiative raising money for SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) and stores in Northern Ireland are raising money for Inspire, a local mental health charity.

Dunelm colleagues across the country have collectively walked over 6,000 miles already, with more stores set to follow suit over the summer months.

An impressive total of more than £26,000 has been raised for the Miles for Mind initiative so far, adding to the brilliant £447,000 that Dunelm has already raised for its charity partner to date.

The retailer hopes to raise at least £1M across the span of its two-year partnership with Mind.

A spokesperson at Dunelm said: "We are proud to be supporting mental health charity Mind as our charity partner. With this timely partnership, we aim to raise awareness and reduce the stigma often associated with mental health.

"We are also offering essential advice, support and resources to help our colleagues, customers and communities create a more mindful home."

Dunelm stores across England are all invited to take part in the sponsored walk initiative named 'Miles for Mind' in a bid to raise money for the vital work that the mental health charity carries out.

A spokesperson from Mind said: "Nobody should face mental health problems alone, and we rely on generous donations and fundraisers to be there for the people who need us – on the other end of the phone, in local communities and campaigning hard.

"We welcome fundraising in all its forms - from virtual exercise classes to a football tournament, or whatever you can dream up! We’re very thankful to Dunelm Swindon for their generous donation."